Need to build a larger pool of shooters for consistency: NRAI president Kalikesh

NRAI president Kalikesh Singh Deo (ANI Photo)

PUNE: The Indian shooters had a decent outing at the recently concluded Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan. The shooters won 15 medals that included 3 gold, 8 silver and four bronze medals and finished second behind China (28 total) in the sports medals tally.Though there was a good haul of medals, the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) president Kalikesh Singh Deo feels India could have done better at the quadrennial event.

“I think the results were decent. In some events, we did pretty well. However, there was one event where we did not meet our expectations, given the strength of the team we had sent,” Kalikesh told TOI.The NRAI president was referring to the air pistol event, where India drew a blank.

India didn’t win a single medal from air pistol men and women individual and team categories. Suruchi Phogat and Kamaljeet’s gold in the mixed team event was the only consolation for the Indians.While the women’s team had experienced shooters like Paris Games double medallistManu Bhaker, Esha Singh and Suruchi, the men’s team had an inexperienced squad that included Kamaljeet, Kedarling Balakrishna, and Aakash Bhardwaj.

As a lot of new shooters are taking up the 10m air pistol event in the men’s category, it is becoming difficult for players to maintain their spot in the squad. The men’s squad keeps changing from tournaments to tournaments and lacks stability. Kalikesh agreed that always-changing names have made things inconsistent for them.“There have been frequent changes in the composition of the men's air pistol team. Our selection policy is completely objective.

We use a rolling average of scores, so we do not exercise discretion in the selection process.However, frequent changes in the team can be a problem because athletes do not get enough time to gain experience. The sports science support we need to provide them also sometimes gets disrupted,” he said.The NRAI chief said that the federation will be looking to find a solution as they face the problem of plenty.“We have to find a way to work with a larger pool of athletes, perhaps even beyond the core team.

We had anticipated this issue, not just in air pistol but in some other events as well, where many young shooters have started coming through. In fact, in the year preceding this one, we introduced a policy of sending two teams to international competitions. Alongside the main team, which competed at every World Cup, we sent another team and gave its members ample opportunities.

As a result, around 10 to 15 shooters in each discipline have now gained international exposure.”“Having said that, men's air pistol remains an issue we need to address. We are waiting for the World Championships to conclude because we do not want to disturb either the team or the high-performance coaching group at this stage,” he added.